Eno adds 24,000kg bags of rice to complement FG’s initiative

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Akwa Ibom State Government has increased the 24,000 bags of rice donated by the Federal Government by another 24,000.

Governor Umo Eno said the 24,000 extra 25kg bags were an initiative to reach more families with the much-needed support to tackle the hunger problems.

Speaking on Friday in Uyo during a press briefing, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Offiong Offor, said the rice would be distributed at the 31 local government council headquarters, from where the council chairmen will ensure the transportation of 20 bags to each of the gazetted villages.

“Through this food intervention, each of the 2, 272 gazette villages in the state will receive 20 bags of rice. This is in addition to the over 100, 000 families from the social register who have already received, or will soon receive, free food items from the state government through the Bulk Purchase Agency.

“This intervention aims to mitigate the hardship currently faced by our citizens, reducing extreme hunger and poverty in line with Sustainable Development Goal 1.

“A hungry populace can lead to unrest, making food availability, affordability, and security a priority for this administration.

“Our long-term solution is the Back to Farm Initiative, promoting local food production, and designating the first and third Fridays of the month as work-free farming days,” she stated.

Offor listed several strategic interventions in the Ministry of Agriculture, including distributing cassava cuttings, maize grains, pepper seedlings, and coconut seedlings to 135 public primary and secondary schools.

She stated that the ministry has so far distributed 150,000 cocoa seedlings to cocoa farmers, 40,000 oil palm seedlings to oil palm farmers, 80,000 pepper seedlings to vegetable farmers, 20 metric tons of rice shared to rice farmers across the state, and livestock and poultry supplies to poultry farmers.

She further said the Ministry provided livelihood grants of N150,000 to 1,560 beneficiaries and agricultural inputs and services to 900 farmers under the AKCARES Scheme.